It was a thrilling encounter between Manchester United and Leeds United on Monday night, with the away team picking up all three points. Daniel Farke's men edged a step closer to Premier League safety, winning 2-1 on the night.
A brace from Noah Okafor gave Leeds a two-goal lead by half-time, and they probably could have had a greater lead as the Red Devils struggled to dominate as the home team. Things then went from bad to worse for Michael Carrick's side when Lisandro Martinez was handed a straight red card after VAR caught his pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair.
Despite being down to 10 men, Casemiro was then able to make it 2-1 with about 20 minutes to play. Both teams had chances to score in the final stages of the match, but Leeds held on to come away with all three points.
Manchester United Men Rage Over Paul Tierney Refereeing
Lisandro Martinez is sent off in Man Utd vs Leeds
After the game, Manchester United were furious with the call to send off Martinez. Referee Paul Tierney had explained his on-field decision, saying: “Manchester United's six is guilty of pulling his hair, violent conduct, final decision is a red card.”
Carrick could not hide his anger as he told Sky Sports that it was 'one was one of the worst I've seen', having also said: "It's not a pull, it's not a tug, it's not aggressive, he touches it and gets sent off. Worst of all is he was sent to overturn it as a clear and obvious error. It's shocking."
Bruno Fernandes was similarly enraged, saying: "I'm not talking about the referee. If I talk about the referee I'm going to get in very big trouble because the rules are different for everyone and they play different for everyone. The difference in the yellow cards, you can also see it so it is better that I don't say anything."
Lisandro Martinez and Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Man Utd manager Michael Carrick looks on vs Leeds Related
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It was a chaotic night in the Premier League for both teams.
Mark Clattenburg
Amid the controversy, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has now given his verdict on whether a red card for Martinez was the correct decision. As quoted by United in Focus, he had no doubt in his mind as he agreed with VAR's intervention, explaining:
“We have seen examples of players being dismissed from the field of play for pulling an opponent’s hair.
“This is not a football action, and when Lisandro Martinez pulled the hair of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the VAR correctly recommended a review to the referee Paul Tierney to send the offender off for violent conduct which will result in a minimum of a three-match suspension.”
With Clattenburg backing up the red card decision, it's unlikely that Martinez will avoid that three-match suspension, even if Man Utd did try to appeal it. As such, the Argentine defender is now set to miss out on the Premier League away trip to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, as well as Old Trafford visits from Brentford and Liverpool.
With Aston Villa level on points with the Red Devils, and Arne Slot's side only three points off the pair in fifth place, the race for the final Champions League spots could come down to the wire.